Historica Olomucensia 1 (2023), 35-50 | DOI: 10.5507/ho.2023.005

The Path to the Unexpected Partnership of Nixon and Kissinger in 1969

David Mareček
Institute of History, Philosophical Faculty, University of Hradec Králové

The presented study examines the origins of cooperation between the US Pre­sident Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor and later Secre­tary of State Henry Kissinger. The aim of the paper is to analyse under what conditions Nixon's administration came to office in 1969, the causes that led the new President to approach Kissinger with the offer of a key foreign policy position and what attitudes both the protagonists had towards the U.S. role in the world. Despite being an unlikely partnership, their subsequent cooperation, which operated until Nixon's resignation in August 1974, significantly changed the course of the Cold War. During Nixon's administration, the crucial summits between Americans and representatives of the then Communist powers took place in Beijing and Moscow in 1972, becoming the most prominent di­plomatic legacy of their efforts to reduce international tensions. Up to that time, in contrast, similar attempts to negotiate with China and the USSR were unprecedented due to the then tense geopolitical situation associated with the ongoing Cold War. The study concludes that the fundamental reason for this unexpected connection between two different politicians was a shared vision of transforming the decision-making process within the American administration and the idea of a grand strategy in international politics that would get the United States out of the crises of the 1960s.

Keywords: Richard Nixon; Henry Kissinger; Cold War; Republican Party; U. S. Foreign Policy; Détente; National Security Council

Accepted: April 18, 2023; Published: July 1, 2023  Show citation

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Mareček, D. (2023). The Path to the Unexpected Partnership of Nixon and Kissinger in 1969. Historica Olomucensia, 64(1), 35-50. doi: 10.5507/ho.2023.005
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